Betty's Buttons (1911)
Betty, a poor little girl, whose father has been out of work for some time, appears at school in a dress that is far from being up to the standard of the other little girls. They poke fun at her in an innocent sort of way, but it breaks her heart and when she comes home she demands a new dress. Unfortunately it is just before rent day and there is no money to be spared, so her mother makes up her mind that she will cut down one of her own dresses to provide Betty with a new one. And so it comes that at school the next day Betty appears with her new dress, down the front of which are four big buttons. The children admire the dress very much, but one little mischief counts off the buttons and discovers that by the telling "rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief" Betty's future is to be inevitably connected with a thief. Meanwhile the rent collector has called at the house and taken the last money that her father and mother had for expenses, but in putting it into his pocket he accidentally drops a twenty dollar bill on the floor. He is unconscious of this, but Betty's father sees it and puts his foot on it so that it is hid when the collector leaves the house. As the latter opens the door Betty dashes in, her small heart utterly broken at the idea of being connected with a thief. She tells the story to her little mother and father, the latter standing the while with one foot upon the twenty dollar bill. Of course the word "thief" from his little daughter's lips brings him to a sudden realization of where he stands and to the surprise of the mother and daughter, the father suddenly stoops, picks up something from the floor which they do not see, and seizing his hat, dashes from the room, leaving them staring after him in open eyed amazement. Arriving at the office of the rent collector, where the loss has just been noticed he presents the twenty dollar bill and tells the man that he dropped it on his floor. Now it so happens that the office needed help and that the father's honesty in returning the money when they know well enough that it is hard for him to get such an amount in his present circumstances, make him seem a good candidate for the position which is promptly offered him.
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Domestic
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International
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Worldwide
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GenresComedy
Short
IMDbPro
See more details at IMDbPro
| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Bannister Merwin | Director |
| Bannister Merwin | Writer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| Shirley Mason | |
| Herbert Barrington | |
| Miriam Nesbitt |
